Silvester Nguni, the former Cottco boss, said he would turn around the country’s agricultural sector in six months if he was appointed Minister of Agriculture in the new government.
Nguni was Minister of Economic Development at the time but said that his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party was going to allow the Movement for Democratic Change to introduce economic reforms in the new government because it had recognised that it was incapable of tackling the problem on its own.
Asked about his highest priority economic reform, Nguni called for immediate elimination of all the price distortions that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had introduced.
He said central bank governor Gideon Gono too powerful, too political, and “part of the problem”.
Nguni asked the United States government not to berate Zimbabwe but to encourage and react faster and publicly to positive developments.
He stressed that ZANU-PF was no longer a monolith and asked the US to support “change elements” in the party so that “anti-change elements” could see that it differentiated among the political players.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08HARARE965, ZIMBABWE: ECONOMIC MINISTER PAINTS HIMSELF AS
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO5714
PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0965/01 3011529
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 271529Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3618
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2109
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2380
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2500
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1776
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2131
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2556
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4984
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1649
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUZEHAA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000965
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
AF/EPS FOR ANN BREITER
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN
TREASURY FOR D. PETERS
COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2018
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: ECONOMIC MINISTER PAINTS HIMSELF AS
REFORM-MINDED
Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4 (d)
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) ZANU-PF Minister of Economic Development Sylvester
Nguni in a meeting with emboffs on October 20 saw no evidence
of policy shifts in ZANU-PF and suggested that the ruling
party would eventually surrender economic policy to MDC in a
face-saving move out of desperation. He asked for rapid
donor assistance to buoy the reform process, and for the USG
to appreciate and reward progress that ZANU-PF had made in
the past year on the political front. Emphasizing that
ZANU-PF was no longer monolithic, he asked for support for
“change elements” in the party and contended that more
ruling-party members wanted change than favored the status
quo. While generally well-regarded across party lines as a
right-thinking businessman, Nguni has no track record of
positively influencing policy during his tenure in the
economic or agriculture ministries. END SUMMARY.
—————————————
No Evidence of Policy Shifts in ZANU-PF
—————————————
¶2. (C) Nguni opened his remarks to polecon chief and deputy
on the political and economic situation in Zimbabwe by
stating that he was a “minister in transition,8 and would
speak on his own, not government’s, behalf. (NOTE: Nguni was
re-elected to Parliament this year in the rich agricultural
district of Mhondoro-Mubaira in Mashonaland West province.
END NOTE.) He proceeded to say that he saw no evidence of
policy shifts in ZANU-PF, or any indication of clarity on the
economic front. He suggested that ZANU-PF, in a face-saving
move under a Government of National Unity (GNU), would allow
the MDC to introduce economic reforms, recognizing that the
ruling party was incapable of tackling the problems on its
own.
—————————
A Plea for Donor Assistance
—————————
¶3. (C) On the political front, in his view political reform
could no longer be stopped, but it could be delayed. He
feared the MDC could allow the negotiations to drag on to the
point that the process was overtaken by “other events”
(unnamed) and the MDC lost everything. Pointing out the
chasm in policy differences between the parties, he said the
first Cabinet meeting under a GNU would tell all about the
ability of the government to function effectively. The
Cabinet had a tradition of consensus-based decision making,
which would present an immediate challenge to the new mix of
policy makers.
¶4. (C) Nguni commented on the desperate economic situation
and estimated that about 40 percent of the households in his
constituency received remittances amounting to the equivalent
of about US$100/month. He asked how quickly the donor
community could provide assistance, without which, he
contended, recovery would be slow and uncertain. We replied
that reengagement was dependent on demonstration of political
and economic reform.
HARARE 00000965 002 OF 002
—————————————
RBZ Governor Gono “Part of the Problem”
—————————————
¶5. (C) Asked about his highest priority economic reform,
Nguni called for immediate elimination of all the price
distortions that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) had
introduced. He called RBZ Governor Gono too powerful, too
political, and “part of the problem.” Prodded about what
ministry he would like to head in a new government, he
asserted that he could turn the agriculture sector around in
six months as its minister.
——————————————— ——
A Call for Support for “Change Elements” in ZANU-PF
——————————————— ——
¶6. (C) On U.S.-Zimbabwe relations, Nguni called the shift in
ZANU-PF thinking in the past year &huge8 and progress on
the political front significant. Never before had the two
parties sat down to negotiate. He asked the USG, in
response, not to berate Zimbabwe, rather to encourage and
react faster and publicly to positive developments. He
stressed that ZANU-PF was no longer a monolith and asked for
our support of “change elements” in the party so that
“anti-change elements” could see that the USG differentiated
among the political players. He denied that ministers were
under instruction not to meet with USG officials, but
acknowledged that many ZANU-PF officials were afraid to meet
with western diplomats. His closing message to emboffs was
that more ZANU-PF members wanted change than wanted the
status quo. (NOTE: Nguni, who served as Deputy Minister of
Agriculture under Joseph Made before becoming Economic
Minister, is a Specially Designated National. He is also on
the EU and Australian sanctions lists. END NOTE.)
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶7. (C) Minister Nguni would clearly like the USG to regard
him as one of the “change elements” in ZANU-PF. Having
adeptly managed the privatization of the Cotton Marketing
Board in the early 1990s, he is widely regarded as an astute
and pro-market businessman with a deep understanding of the
agriculture sector. His name comes up invariably as a
potential ZANU-PF Minister of Agriculture who would be
acceptable to MDC. But his track record of reform in
government is as good as invisible. END COMMENT.
MCGEE
(24 VIEWS)
